Will Hill closes down WHCL in the UK

The major UK gambling group William Hill plc has continued its remote gambling diversification structuring by adding a new telephone betting service to the William Hill Online operations that recently relocated to Gibraltar.
William Hill Online is to establish the new telephone betting operation with an outsourced service provider, Vertex, a leading global BPO and customer management outsourcer.
At the same time, the betting group’s former telephone betting subsidiary, William Hill Credit Limited (WHCL), will close its operation in the UK.
It is proposed that Vertex will take over the Sheffield-based call centre currently run by WHCL and that William Hill Online will also manage customers from Gibraltar. Customers will benefit from an improved service, including being able to use their telephone betting accounts for online gambling transactions.
WHCL’s second call centre in Leeds will close, with all staff being offered alternative positions. The group entered into a 90-day period of consultation with those employees affected by the closure this week.
“William Hill continues to have a substantial presence in the UK and Ireland, including more than 2,300 licensed betting offices and around 16,000 employees,” a company spokesman said. “It paid GBP265 million in UK taxes and levies in 2009.”
The spokesman revealed that the group expects to implement the changes during the fourth quarter of 2010, with associated cost savings of approximately GBP4-7 million per annum expected to commence from the start of 2011.  The cost of implementation in 2010 is expected to be approximately GBP7 million, of which approximately GBP5 million will be incurred as an exceptional item.
Although William Hill Online is a joint venture between William Hill plc and online gambling software provider Playtech Limited, future telephone business profits/losses will be retained by William Hill, with the exception of an annual telephone betting support fee of GBP 500 000 payable to Playtech.
William Hill’s existing telephone betting business made a loss of GBP1.8 million in 2009 and a small operating loss is anticipated to be made in the first half of 2010.
Ralph Topping, chief executive of William Hill, commented: “This significant change to our telephone business is a response to the challenge of competing with betting exchanges and offshore telebetting operators, all of whom have benefitted from significant cost and tax advantages over UK bookmakers. This has made it impossible for our existing business to compete profitably from the UK.”

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